The how, what, and why of using promotional clothing and novelties

Monthly Archives: June 2016

The retail and clothing industry is flourishing and so is the art of garment decorating. This technique to improve apparel appearance is wide spread throughout the industry. There are so many options that it’s hard for a company to know which method is best.

For certain, plain is out and decorative is in. Companies want to get the best bang for their buck when it comes to garment decorating. There are several ways to do this and all of them end up with a great finished product.

How does one decide which method to use? There are quite a few to choose from but check out the four below that have proven quite popular.

4 techniques for garment printing include:

Screen Printing

This method is an oldie but a goody. The process of screen printing onto a garment can cost more at the beginning but ultimately is worth the money later.

With this method, a picture is reproduced by dividing the design into a series of individual colors. The sheer number of colors used for the garment can change the price. The more you plan to print the less you’ll “feel” of the set up costs.

Screen printing involves exposing the colors on the screen and then aligning the press so that the colors will register correctly. Remember, the more you print the better off you’ll be cost wise.

2. Digital Printing

This is a great method to decorate clothing because it can print without the initial set-up costs that you find in screen printing and other methods. Companies like this option because it’s easier to customize their designs. Digital printing is growing in popularity.

3. Dye Sublimation

This digital printing method is one where sublimation paper is put through a dye-sublimation inkjet printer and then the paper is pressed via a heat press. The heat helps to inject the ink into the apparel item. Dye sublimation works best on light colored clothing.

4. Print-cut decorating

The process of print-cut decorating is similar to dye sublimation; however, it is printed on a vinyl material rather than paper. The extra vinyl material is diminished and leaves only the image area which is pressed onto a garment with heat.

Whether you want to screen print, use a digital technique, dye sublimation or print-cut decorate your product, you’ll be able to satisfy your customers with a variety of options. Garment decorating is popular, easy, well received and offers a variety of techniques that are used in the market.

When you want to create a laser-etched t-shirt, this is what you need to have ready.

Choose The Right Material

It is best for you to choose garments that are made from the right materials. Go with:

polyester for a sharp look

denim for a slightly bleached look

polar fleece gives a textured look

Some thinner materials like what is used to make certain types of running shorts can work. However, it is important that you do not use 100% cotton or poly/cotton blends for this process.

Give The Company The Right Image File Format

When you have your logo, branding, or designs put together, be sure you have a vector image file created. It is important to provide the company that is doing laser-etching with the vector file. Otherwise, they will not be able to modify the size the way they need to.

Stick with AI, EPS, and PDF formats for your image file.

Pick The Right Colors

With laser-etching, you should go with medium colors and tones. These colors make the etching pop. Avoid too dark or too light tones to make sure the design is seen once the etching is done. If you are unsure of the right color schemes, ask the company to give you some suggestions.

Steps the Company Will Need to Take

Once you decide on the right material and provide the vector image to the company, they will take it from there. They have different steps they will take to ensure that the laser-etching turns out the way you want.

* Edit The Color Of the Image

Laser-etching creates a tone-on-tone effect, which means that the image will need to be changed to all one color. When they do this, it will tell the laser software where it needs to do the etching.

* Test the Material Before Etching the Design

They will need to test the material of the garments that you are bringing them to ensure that the laser-etching will work properly. It is better that they do a small test to make sure the garments will not be ruined.

Laser-etching is a great option, especially for sports teams that want a specific design on their uniform. Plenty of other companies use this type of printing to create the designs they desire.